one of the reasons i really like new york, is that on any given day or at any moment you stumble upon something awesome with no intention. randomly walking down Lafayette the other day about to hit up puck fair for a burger, stopped into this spot displaying super-future looking bikes. ill let the photos tell it, but many of these bikes function using solar energy. the designs are super sleek, and honestly just pretty fucking cool to look at, plus make a smaller carbon foot-print. there was this really dope tree. the steel leaves had panels for conducting solar energy, which would in turn light up these bulbs on the tree. peep.

a few official ones.

Creator, Josh Hadar has designed not only with a social responsibility in mind, but his creative aesthetic must also be addressed here. The exhibit which is on display for just a few more days, entitled “The Evolution of Steel” shows how Hadar has manipulated the metal in order to create these sleek and sinuous forms. He has taken the original form of a bike and stretched that to create something more sculptural and artistic, all the while focusing on environmental needs.

In addition to the show, which was put on by The New Museum’s Festival of Ideas for the New City, New York played host for 4 days, to a creative collaboration of downtown businesses, workshops, art groups, and exhibitions. The categories ranged from architecture and urban planning, economics and sustainability, and art and design. The topics were then facilitated through means of parties, lectures, video screenings, and live performances.

Josh Hadar’s ‘The Evolution of Steel” is on view until May 27th located at 285 Lafayette Street btwn Houston and Prince. Stop by if you have a minute. Dope show.

hadn’t been put on to this artist before. his style definitely evokes emotion.”an American conceptual artist whose works explore race, language, desire, and identity.”i found myself drawn to his text-based paintings, of which he is most famous for. on large canvas they feature a single line of text, repeated over and over ending in a mush of black paint. the ones on display were one-liners taken from Zora Neale Hurston, i was lucky one of the security guards was standing with eyes closed. snapped a few flicks.

stopped in this church before heading to the exhibit. random, cuz i dont usually find myself in a church. there is something very serene about the silence after walking on nyc’s noisy streets. you walk in and no one is talking, people are singing songs about god. made me feel like being very quiet. and i was, but only for a little! :).

Before going to the actual exhibition, I hadn’t heard about the World Press Photo shows before. Since its inception in 1955 and every year thereafter, World Press Photo has held contests for who has the winning photojournalism photo of that year, “a girl running naked after a napalm attack in Vietnam; a Buddhist monk who has set himself alight; a sole demonstrator standing in front of tanks on Tiananmen Square.” The non-profit organization started in Amsterdam, The Netherlands i.e. Holland, and since has held exhibitions across the globe, and currently it is the largest photojournalism contest in the world.

Initially I wasn’t sure what I would see. It didn’t occur to me the magnitude of impact press photos would have on me. The head of a dead girl peeking out of rubble on the Gaza strip or President Obama’s inauguration in Washington D.C. So many of the things that happen in the world, that you overlook, forget about, or are disinterested in because as always life has to be led, and your day to day grind often takes away from thinking of these things.

I’d also like to mention where the exhibit took place. In Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk. This translates to old church, and it is old; Amsterdam’s oldest (consecrated in 1306) and by far one of the most beautiful I’ve seen so far. The same exhibit takes place in New York City at the United Nations. It dawned on me how unfortunate that is, because I’m not likely to go. In Amsterdam the show is in an amazing old church, a beautiful structure with history, wooden ceilings (the oldest vaulted ceilings of any church in Europe), carved marble floors, and stained glass windows. Then you have the United Nations…a place that should symbolize peace and the continued thriving relationships that world countries build together, and somehow it seems like an effort lost. An attempt to change the world, but losing its way in the end. We could argue perhaps the same on the other end; churches, religion, politics, missionaries, topics that raise heavy debates, and question your own beliefs in the world at large. All very deep stuff no doubt. Lets look at a few photos for now…

My last and by far favorite photo of the show, was the one below by JR.

A friend of mine recently posted about JR over on her site. Below is the link and info on his current work.